Object Timeline

1972

  • We acquired this object.

  • Work on this object began.

2023

2025

  • You found it!

Book, Symbol Sourcebook: An Authorative Guide to International Graphic Symbols

This is a Book. It was designed by Henry Dreyfuss. It is dated 1972 and we acquired it in 1972. Its medium is bound volume with color illustrations. It is a part of the department.


Designer Henry Dreyfuss’s Symbol Sourcebook: An Authoritative Guide to International Guide to Graphic Symbols is a compilation of symbols, both familiar and specialized, in use at the time of its publication in 1972. With a table of contents in 18 languages, the Symbol Sourcebook was accessible for readers and designers around the world. Drawing on 26 disciplines from astrology and machinery to travel, it is both a groundbreaking reference work and a tool for the creation of new symbols.

This object was donated by Henry Dreyfuss. It is credited Gift of Henry Dreyfuss.

Its dimensions are

H x W x D (open ): 17.8 × 36.8 × 29.2 cm (7 in. × 14 1/2 in. × 11 1/2 in.)

Cite this object as

Book, Symbol Sourcebook: An Authorative Guide to International Graphic Symbols; Designed by Henry Dreyfuss (American, 1904–1972); bound volume with color illustrations; H x W x D (open ): 17.8 × 36.8 × 29.2 cm (7 in. × 14 1/2 in. × 11 1/2 in.); Gift of Henry Dreyfuss; 1972-88-1-29

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Give Me a Sign: The Language of Symbols.

There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian’s Terms of Use page.

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If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://www-4.collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/2318807430/ |title=Book, Symbol Sourcebook: An Authorative Guide to International Graphic Symbols |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=5 February 2025 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>